


Truth or Dare

by CrazyTaraWitch



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-05
Updated: 2014-08-05
Packaged: 2018-02-11 20:23:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2081889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrazyTaraWitch/pseuds/CrazyTaraWitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Don’t get embarrassed now, Miss Swan. You’re the one who suggested we play Truth or Dare. Now answer the question, dear.”<br/>Inspired by http://swanqueensails.tumblr.com/post/87269089459/dont-get-embarrassed-now-miss-swan-youre-the</p>
            </blockquote>





	Truth or Dare

**Author's Note:**

> Finally getting around to posting some old stories here (with slight grammatical improvements)

Emma Swan had no idea how they ended up like this. It was supposed to be simple; it was her idea to help Regina host Henry’s birthday party. They’d been struggling to remain on good terms in the wake of Marian’s return, but it seemed like such a harmless idea; maybe she really was as much of an idiot as the mayor liked to claim.

It turned out half a dozen pre-teens can be even more exhausting than Emma had bargained for. When they finally settled down to rest in their fort—neither woman had any illusions they were sleeping, but at least they were finally _quiet_ —Emma had been in desperate need of a drink. To her surprise, Regina had joined her, which had led them… here.

Playing truth or dare on the couch in Regina’s study at 1am, half drunk and each with an ear out for any talking that would be too loud to ignore.

“Don’t get embarrassed now, Miss Swan,” Regina addressed her with a smirk that suggested she knew just how uncomfortable her question had made Emma and was reveling in it. “You’re the one who suggested we play Truth or Dare. Now answer the question, dear.”

Emma gulped. She definitely wasn’t drunk enough for this. The fact Regina had even asked something so personal suggested she herself was more drunk than she ought to be with children in the house. Had they really worn her out that much? Or—Emma’s face fell further at the thought—did Regina need to be drunk to spend time with her?

She pushed that idea out of her mind; better to answer the stupid ‘truth’ than continue down that mental road. “I ended it,” she mumbled quietly, “because he couldn’t understand why I couldn’t be happy.”

Regina considered her for a moment before responding. “That’s not much of an answer dear,” she pointed out, and Emma was surprised again by how much she was pushing. Mary Margaret had been like this, trying desperately to understand why Emma had dumped Hook so soon after finally giving him a chance, and Emma wondered if her mother had talked to the other woman about her. What else could explain Regina’s sudden interest in her love life? She felt herself growing angry at the thought; she didn’t want people talking about her, and she certainly didn’t need Mary Margaret dragging in her… _co-parent_ to figure out her motivations. She loved her mother, but the woman’s concept of privacy left a lot to be desired.

And apparently when drunk, so did Regina’s. “ _Why_ couldn’t you be happy, Emma?” she pressed. “Much as I… _disdain_ the pirate, you seemed to enjoy his company.”

“Just drop it Regina,” Emma warned, voice rising sharply. She did not want this conversation, and especially not here, not with this woman, and certainly not like this.

Regina, however, seemed in the mood to push, and Emma recognized the stubborn, angry glint in her eyes all too well; it was the side of Regina she had seen all too often in the last few weeks. It was an improvement over the look of betrayal and pain she’d worn the night Marian returned, but still a far cry from the respect and… whatever else it was she used to see in Regina’s gaze. What was it she had seen in the way Regina had looked at her? Warmth? Maybe sometimes, in rare moments; but there was something else, something constant, that had been missing ever since that night, and even though Emma couldn’t quantify or name it she knew she wanted it back.

She hated herself for breaking whatever had been forming between them. They had Henry to think about, but they’d proven tonight they could parent together even like this. It was more than being able to cooperate that she missed. They had been… friends? That was probably an exaggeration, but she knew they had been more than *this*. And she wanted it back. She wanted to take back what she did—not saving Marian’s life, because she couldn’t regret that, but she wanted to undo the harm to Regina, to fix what had broken, to make Regina _happy_ again.

But now here was Regina, pushing her, and even though her mind was telling her to let it go, to stop being so defensive because she was so _tired_ of fighting with this woman she cared about, she could still feel the anger and frustration coursing through her. Afraid she would lash out, Emma stood to get distance.

“What, are you _running away_?” Regina scoffed. “That’s all you’re good for isn’t it, ruining lives and running away. Is that why you ended it with the pirate, running away because you couldn’t handle an adult relationship?”

“Oh please! That wasn’t an adult relationship, and I _didn’t_ run away!” Emma yelled, forgetting in her haze of alcohol and anger that there were children to consider.

“You’re so entitled, always thinking there’s another happy ending right around the corner! Life doesn’t give out unlimited chances!”

“Don’t you get it Regina?! I don’t have a happy ending if you don’t! There’s no happily ever after without you!”

“What are you saying, Emma?” Her voice was hollow, almost emotionless, but her face was anything but.

“I’m saying that I--” Emma stopped herself, struggling to regain composure. “I’m not saying anything,” she stated firmly, turning and walking to the cart that held Regina’s scotch, needing another drink and an excuse to avoid looking at Regina while she spoke. “But you deserve to be happy, and I couldn’t be knowing you weren’t.”

“That’s a lovely sentiment dear, but I’m not likely to ever get a happy ending. Daniel’s dead, and now Robin… I got a second chance that I probably never deserved, and it is highly improbable I will ever have a third. You shouldn’t let _me_ stand in the way of your happiness.”

Walking back towards the brunette with her drink in hand, she struggled to explain. “It’s not _that_. I’m not depriving myself, I just—I don’t _want_ a happy ending without you. You and me and Henry, somehow it was starting to work. You’re—you’re my _family_ Regina.”

As she resumed her seat, the Sheriff saw a pain she didn’t understand pass across Regina’s face. “Emma,” she said softly, and without thinking the younger woman reached out, placing her hand over Regina’s. She wanted to offer comfort, take away some of that pain.

“You must miss him a lot. Robin.”

“Yes, I… I do miss him, and feeling cared for. But we had so little time together, not long enough to get used to… being loved.”

“You _are_ loved, Regina.” Emma told her emphatically, gently squeezing the hand that still rested beneath her own. “Henry loves you. And there’s Mary Margaret… and there’s me.” She felt the hand twitch beneath her and suddenly her heart began to race. She knew she was probably flushing, but as she gulped the last of her scotch—ignoring the burn as it went down-- she hoped it could be excused by the alcohol. After putting down her glass, Emma looked at Regina once again, and felt the breath knocked out of her.

Regina was…smiling at her. It wasn’t a grin, it wasn’t an expression of joy or ecstasy; it was soft, and warm, and just the slightest bit surprised. She’d smiled at her that way once before, in her office right after returning to Storybrooke, when Emma had believed her without question; she recalled perfectly the way her heart had swelled at the look of—Trust. That’s what had been missing in Regina’s eyes these last few weeks, and there it was beaming out at her. She had missed it, not just the feeling directed at her but that look of security in Regina’s face.

Not for the first time, Emma noticed how radiant the other woman was. Those moments when she looked happy, she was as far from evil as Emma could imagine.

The way her eyes softened, and her mouth curved, how soft her lips looked—Emma quickly stood, seeking more scotch to divert her thoughts and hoping Regina hadn’t noticed the way she’d been… _staring_. She had been staring at _Regina_. Even half-drunk Emma could think of a thousand reasons without even trying why that was about the worst idea she could have. For one thing, Regina was in love, with a man Emma had—

Before she could finish the thought, Regina spoke quietly. “Truth or dare?”

“No way!” Emma whined as she whipped around, glass in hand. “I answered your question, it’s my turn to ask.”

As Emma returned to the couch, unconsciously sitting a little closer than was strictly necessary, the gaze that met hers was both soft and hard, warm yet unwavering. “ _Truth or dare,_ Miss Swan.”

“You don’t play fair,” Emma complained with a hint of a pout.

“I’m the Evil Queen, dear,” Regina replied with a small laugh. Her eyes were sparkling, though Emma thought she saw her hand tremble as it reached for her drink. All evening Regina had sipped, and she’d expressed her disdain more than once for the way Emma failed to savor the expensive liquor, yet now she took an unceremoniously large gulp.

Emma couldn’t help her curiosity; much as she loved to spar with the former queen, she was intrigued enough to give in this once. “Dare,” she challenged, meeting Regina’s gaze steadily.

At first, Emma decided she must be drunker than she thought, because no way did Regina Mills actually say, “Kiss me.” The way Regina’s eyes flicked to her mouth when she subconsciously licked her lips at the words, however, seemed to suggest otherwise.

There were a thousand reasons why this was a bad idea, but as her heart pounded and she watched Regina watch her, Emma Swan couldn’t remember a single one.

Emma leaned in close, smelling the sweet mix of alcohol on Regina’s breath and watching the way her lips parted slightly in anticipation. She felt her stomach flip, a thousand butterflies fluttering at once. It took all her self-restraint, now she was so close, to hold back a moment longer, but the adrenaline was making her brain kick in, and she couldn’t be so reckless as to kiss someone who mattered, the mother of her child, without knowing what it meant.

“Truth or dare,” she whispered, hardly daring to breathe.

“Truth,” Regina answered instantly, her eyes searching the face of the woman before her.

Emma swallowed, but when she spoke the words she’d planned didn’t come, and out tumbled, “Do I love you?”

Regina’s eyebrow quirked at the question and this time Emma _knew_ she was flushing crimson. “I meant--” she started to backtrack but Regina cut her off. “Yes,” she whispered, voice trembling.

“There you go telling the truth again,” Emma murmured, unable to stop the smile that bloomed across her still-blushing face.

Neither woman could say who finally leaned in and closed the last gap between them. If Emma had ever dared to imagine such a moment, she would have expected passion and heat, intensity and a war for dominance that left them both breathless. This kiss was something different, sweet and slow. She’d been right about how soft Regina’s lips were, and she was amazed by the gentleness as they moved against her own. She felt herself smile into the kiss, and when they finally pulled apart the same reverent expression was reflected back at her. Their foreheads rested against each other as Emma found herself once again whispering, “Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Regina murmured, smirking once again.

“Love me,” Emma stated simply, ignoring the fact it was probably the single most complicated thing she’d ever asked of someone in her life. A part of her was sure it was too much to ask—that this woman who had hated her, who had just lost the man she was supposed to be with, whose heart had been broken because of _her_ , would never be able to feel anything more than lust and perhaps a grudging allegiance. But somehow… she knew things between them had been more than that for a long time; despite her fears, Emma knew this was a woman who respected her, who wouldn’t have asked for this if it wasn’t what she wanted for more than tonight. That one tiny voice of doubt was silenced as Regina smiled once again, melting Emma’s heart.

“Too late,” she admitted softly. “I cared for Robin; it was simple, easy, and I believed we could be happy. But I think I loved you all along.”

This time it was Emma’s eyes that sparkled with unshed tears. “Truth or da--”

“Shut up and kiss me.”


End file.
